Method and apparatus for mooring airships



do 1945- c. E. ROSENDAHL ETAL 2,386,814

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MQORING AIRSHIPS Filed Aug. 6, 1943 INVENTORS Charles E. Resend-B111 ATI'ORN Y Patented Oct. 16, 1945 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MOORING AIRSHIPS Charles E. Rosendahl and Oscar Loeser, Jr.,

' United States Navy Application August 6, 1943, Serial No. 497,580

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30,1928; 370 0. G. 757) 4 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for mooring airships, such as dirigibles.

It has long been realized by experienced airship operating personnel that the so called flying moor method of landing to either a high or low mast falls short of furnishing either a suificiently universal mooring method or a suificiently safe one, the major weakness in the flying moo-r being its lack of adequate vertical control during the mooring operation.

Purely manual ground landing of rigid airships in the United States was discontinued a number of years ago although the landing and horizontal transfer of a rigid airship to the mooring mast has been accomplished in a gusty Wind of from 22 to 30 knots velocity, by manual methods. In this ground landing and horizontal transfer method the weak element now seen is the lack of suflicient control, principally vertical, after the ship reaches the ground. There is a definite limitation to the number of men that can be used on the control car hand rails and the amount of force which men can exert on the control car is altogether out of proportion to the size and mass of the ship.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention toprovide a properly designed landing car to take the place of the forward car party and to increase materially the control that can be exerted at that point.

Another object of the inventionresides in the provision of a method of mooring an airship to a conventional mooring mast including the step of temporarily attaching the forward control car of the airship to a mobile landing car that takes the place of the forward car party.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, and in which'drawing,

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a stage in the airship mooring operat ons.

Figures 2 and 3 are views in side elevation showing further stages in the airship mooring operations.

Figure 4 is a view in side elevation of our improved landing car, the relationship of the landing car to the airship being diagrammatically shown by dot and dash lines.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the landing car.

In the drawing, which for the purpose of illustration shows only a preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein similar reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views,-the letter A generally designates a rigid airship; B, the mooring mast; and C, our improved landing car.

The rigid airship A includes an after landing wheel l5 and a forward landing wheel I6 which is retractably carried below the forward control car l1. Secured to the nose I8 of the airship are yaw lines I9, 29, and a cone 2| to which the usual nose cable 22 is connected.

As for the mooring mast B, the same'may be of the Wellman type shown and described in U, 5. Patent No. 1,914,408 and including ground 'yaw lines 23, 24 and a main mooring cable 25 associated with the mast cup 26. Encircling the mast B is a track 21 carrying mobile yaw anchorages 28, 29 through which the ground yaw lines 23, 24 are led. The mast B may be moved in the direction of the rails 30, 3| on which it is supported, and it is provided with suitable winches (not shown) by which the ground yaw lines 23, 24 and the main cable 25 are reeled in or paid out.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 4 and 5, the landing car C comprises a substantially triangular shaped chassis underslung on caster wheels 36 that are disposed beneath the upwardly extending corner portions 31 of the chassis. The overall height of the landing car C is such as to permit its movement beneath the airship control car I! when the bow of the ship is supported on the. ground by the forward landing wheel l5. Mounted Vertically over the center of the chassis 35, as by a framework 38 including braces 39, is a stub mast 40 including a pneumatic ram 4! carrying a cup 42 for receiving a retractable mooring cone 43 in the bottom of the airship control car. Extending upwardly through the stub mast is a cable 44 for attachment to a cable 45 secured to the airship control car at the cone 43. The cable 44 may be reeled in or paid out by a winch 46 mounted on the chassis 35 and driven byan engine 41. The elevated corner portions 31 are provided with eyes 48 to facilitate the connection of the draw bar of a tractor (not shown) and the sides are provided with suitable fittings 49 constituting pusher couplings for the tractor.

The mooring method is premised on having the ship near the equilibrium condition for landing, unless there be sufficient wind velocity to permit the ship to drive down and overcome the lightness dynamically during the mooring operation. The mooring method is as follows: (1)

The ship A approaches into the wind to leeward of the mast B and drops her yaw lines 19, 20. (2) The ships yaw lines are connected to the ground yaw lines 23, 24 that have been led through the mobile yaw anchorages 28, 29 on the circular track 21 about the mast B, and thence led to the winch (not shown) at the base of the mast. (3) The ship continues its descent to the ground or is pulled down by means of the yaw lines, landing on its forward wheel H5. The ship can be driven down against taut yaw lines or the latter can pull the ship down as well as provide lateral and over-riding control. (4) Meanwhile, the ships main mooring cable 22 has been led out and connected to the masts main cable 25. (5) Upon contact of the forward landing wheel i6 with the ground or possibly just prior, the heavy easily-maneuverable landing car C is attached to the control car I! at the earliest possible moment. The weight of the landing car C, possibly of about tons for a large rigid airship, provides rigid vertical control of the ship and yet allows the ship to fish-tail into the wind while completing the mooring. (6) Meanwhile, lateral and over-riding control of the ships bow is had by use of the yaw lines and the mooring cone 2| is then pulled in to the mast B by means of the nose cable, the landing car C being moved, together with the airship, toward the mast B. ('7) The usual procedure is now practiced at the after part of the ship, either actually landing on the after wheel l5, or held slightly above the ground, until the completion of the mooring operation forward when the stem is pulled down by means of a line 50 from the ship. (8) Upon completion of the mooring forward, the landing car C is detached and run clear.

On the take-off, the pneumatic ram M may be employed to provide a mechanical substitute for the upward thrust now given by the car party with wooden poles or crutches.

Various changes may be made in the method and apparatus herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

What is claimed is:

l. The method of mooring an airship to a mooring mast consisting in flying the airship substantially horizontally toward the mast, lowering the ships bow into closely spaced relation to the ground at the leeward side of the mast, attaching the ships bow to a universally mobile ground car to prevent vertical movement of the ship, moving the mobile ground car toward the mast so as to engage the ships nose with the mooring mast while manipulating the ships yaw lines to prevent undesired lateral or overriding movement of the ship, and disconnecting the mobile ground car from the ship.

2. The method of mooring an airship to a mooring mast consisting in slowly flying the airship substantially horizontally toward the mast, dropping the ships yaw lines and nose cable, lowering the ships bow until the forward control car is in closely spaced relation to the ground, attaching a mobile stub mast to the forward control car so as'to prevent vertical movement of the ships bow, manipulating the ships yaw lines to prevent undesired lateral and over-riding movement of the ship, connecting the nose cable to the mooring mast and shortening the nose cable until the mooring cone of the ship is pulled into engagement with the mast.

3. The method of mooring an airship to a mooring mast consisting in flying the airship substantially horizontally toward the mast, dropping the ships yaw lines, nose cable and an auxiliary cable from the forward control car, moving a mobile stub mast over the ground to a position beneath the forward control car of the airship, connecting the auxiliary cable to the mobile stub mast, shortening the auxiliary cable until the forward control car is seated on the mobile stub mast while manipulating the ships yaw lines to provide lateral and over-riding control, connecting the nose cable to the mooring mast and shortening the nose cable to move the mobile stub mast together with the airship toward the mooring mast.

4. The method of mooring an airship to a mooring mast at the center of a circular track consisting in flying the airship substantially horizontally toward the mast from the leeward side of the mast, dropping the ships yaw lines, nose cable, and an auxiliary cable from theforward bottom of the ship, moving a mobile stub mast over the ground to a position beneath the forward bottom of the airship, connecting the auxiliary cable to the mobile stub mast, shortenin the auxiliary cable until the forward bottom of the airship is seated on the mobile stub mast while retaining lateral and over-riding control of the ship by manipulation of the yaw lines, connecting the nose cable to the mooring mast, shortening the nose cable to move the mobile stub mast togethe with the airship toward the mooring mast, manipulating the yaw lines and adjusting their mobile anchorages on the circular track, whereby the airship is held under lateral, longitudinal and vertical control as it is moved toward the mooring mast.

CHARLES E. ROSENDAHL. OSCAR LOESER, JR. 

